First Steps on the Ladder?

The London Assembly Housing Committee report ‘First Steps on the Ladder?’ looks at the Mayor’s plans to help Londoners access affordable home ownership. The report follows an extensive investigation into the Mayor's affordable home ownership programme. In December 2014, the Committee heard from experts on increasing home affordability in the capital and the problems faced by renters. This was followed with a meeting in February 2015, looking more closely at shared ownership as well as other affordable models, including community land trusts and the Mayor's proposed scheme with Gentoo. The report finds:

the continuing rise in house prices could jeopardise the long-term affordability of the shared ownership model – one scheme in Shoreditch, for example, had a minimum income requirement of £65,617, just £383 shy of the maximum income threshold of £66,000 to qualify for shared ownership housing

while the Mayor acknowledges that households on middle incomes – those earning between £11,000 and £38,000 – suffer badly from high rents, lower wages and restricted access to social housing, half of households that purchased shared ownership homes in 2013-14 had a household income of £39,200 or more

lower-income households from expensive parts of London could struggle to access shared ownership housing, if councils in cheaper areas only allocate it to their own residents

a survey of shared owners found evidence that few households can afford to increase the proportion of their home that they own – known as “staircasing” – promoted as one of the primary benefits of shared ownership.

The report recommends that the Mayor considers how to retain the long-term affordability of shared ownership homes as part of his investment programmes, and develops alternative models of affordable ownership – such as Community Land Trusts.